


The Collision

by Colonel_Edd



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Family, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Parent Jack, Uncle Ianto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 04:41:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21470218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colonel_Edd/pseuds/Colonel_Edd
Summary: When taking his Niece out for a day of fun, Ianto meets an interesting man and sparks begin to fly.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Comments: 21
Kudos: 56





	The Collision

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve honestly no idea where this came from. Work has been kicking my arse these last couple of weeks but I managed to cobble this together before sleep deprivation kicked in. Hope you like it.

“Come on Uncle Ianto!” Mica whined as she dragged him forcibly by the hand, trying to get him to hurry up, “You’re going too slow” Today was their special day and she didn’t want to waste a single second of it. Once a month her uncle would come and visit to take her somewhere, just the two of them while David did his football at the weekend.

Today for her special treat, Mica had decided she wanted to go fly her kite in the big park near her uncle’s house but he was walking too slow for her liking, “Well, if you didn’t want a picnic I could have left all this stuff in the car” Ianto grunted as he lugged the enormous wicker basket of food Mica had picked out for them. Most of it was absolute junk that would send Rhia crazy when she found out about it but Ianto figured it couldn’t hurt just this once. Right?

Then again, he’s not the one who had to deal with the little terror when she crashed later on. One of the perks of being an uncle he guessed.

“Come on,” Mica laughed when her Uncle scooped her up under his free arm, carrying her like a sack of potatoes, “Uncle Ianto!” She shrieked with joy as he span her around, plopping her back on her feet when she got too heavy and letting her run off, enjoying the effects of being dizzy while they lasted.

It was times like these that he thought to himself how much he’d like a child of his own but considering he didn’t even have a girlfriend let alone a wife to start thinking about building a family with, he couldn’t say he’d get what he wanted any time soon.

Until then, he still had his wonderful niece and nephew to spoil to his hearts content.

“The wind is picking up a bit,” Ianto looked out across the park and saw a few other kites bobbing up and down, looks like Mica wasn’t the only one here for that reason today, “Do you want to play with your kite while I set up the picnic?”

“Yes please” she used her manners, thanking him as he handed over the brand new kite he’d bought her for the occasion, “thank you, are you going to watch me fly it?”

“Of course,” Ianto pulled out the blanket he’d brought from home to sit on, spreading it out on the grass, he used the basket to pin one of the sides down while he sat opposite end to ensure it didn’t fly off, “I need to make sure you don’t fly away, your mum would kill me”

Giggling at her silly uncle, Mica picked up her kite and started running with it. It took a few tries but eventually, after insisting she didn’t need any help, she managed to get it airborne, cheering loudly at her success. It was all going great until another child, who wasn’t looking where they were going, crashed into Mica. Their fancily decorated box-kite tangling up with the store bought regular diamond kite Ianto had bought his niece which looked pretty shit in comparison. 

He had never experienced Kite envy before and he couldn’t say he was a massive fan.

Both kites came crashing to the ground in a mess of string and broken sticks, both young girls on the verge of tears, “It’s alright Mica,” Ianto was up like a shot, rushing to his nieces side as he tried to catch a meltdown before it started, “I can fix it” but when he reached behind him to grab her kite his hand landed on something much warmer and solid than the flimsy plastic he’d been expecting.

Looking up his eyes met another pair of deep blue which were staring right back at him, “Hello,” the man who’s hand he was currently holding smiled down at him, “I believe this is our kite?”

Snatching his hand away quickly, Ianto spotted the little girl who’d inadvertently caused this mess hiding behind the man. She was looking at Mica with wide eyes, almost scared of what his niece would do and Ianto felt the need to reassure her, it was an accident after all, “Right, looks like they’ve gotten a bit tangled up” he glanced back at the man, presumably her father, “No harm done though, shouldn’t take long to sort out”

“I told you they wouldn’t be angry, it was an accident” the man told his daughter, the American accent registering in Ianto’s brain but he wasn’t about to ask seeing as it was none of his business, “We’ll have this sorted in a jiffy”

Mica was giving the girl strange looks and Ianto was about to suggest she go get herself a drink from the picnic basket when she spoke to the other little girl instead, “You’re Alice” it wasn’t a question, “You started school last week, you’re in my class” Oh great, they knew each other, Ianto thought to himself, they could go play in the park while he untangled their kites with help from Alice’s father.

“You’re Mica” Alice stepped out from behind her dad, nervously playing with the sleeve of her jumper, “I’m sorry I crashed my kite into yours”

Glancing at her uncle, Mica decided it was probably for the best if she was nice and didn’t start a fight even though she was a bit cross Alice had broken her new toy, “It’s alright,” at the smile she received from her uncle, Mica knew she’d done the right thing, “Do you want to go play on the swings?”

What six year old wouldn’t? Ianto watched out of the corner of his eye as Mica took the other little girl to the swing set and started seeing who could swing higher, “Thank god,” the man sighed under his breath, catching Ianto’s attention with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, it’s just Alice was on the edge of bursting into tears then. Thank you for being so kind”

“Don’t mention it,” Ianto looked down and saw Alice’s dad had done most of the work already, the kites almost separate now, “like you said, it was an accident. They happen.”

The man smiled at him and took the opportunity to introduce himself, “I’m Jack”

“Ianto” he nodded, pulling the two kites apart, “There we go, sorted.” While Mica’s kite was just a bit battered by the collision, Alice’s looked completely ruined, the box all bent out of shape, “I’m sorry about your kite”

Jack sighed, inspecting it, “I’ll have to see what I can do when I get home” he glanced over at his daughter, a smile tugging at his lips, “They seem to be getting on just fine though” and sure enough they were, Alice was laughing loudly as Mica dangled from the monkey bars, “Kids, eh?”

“Yeah, they’re either best friends instantly or mortal enemies” Ianto laughed, smiling pleasantly as both girls came running back over, “Everything alright Mica?”

“Can Alice stay for our picnic?” Mica wasted no time in begging, “Please? We have loads of food, we’ll never eat it all by ourselves? Pretty please?”

Ianto wasn’t sure, “What if your friend already has plans?”

“She doesn’t!” Mica clasped Alice’s hand firmly, puppy dog eyes in full effect, “Please can she stay for our picnic?”

“Well I suppose it’s up to her dad” Ianto glanced back at Jack who looked like he was giving it a great deal of thought, “He might want to take Alice home for lunch or-”

Mica battered her eyelashes, “Please Alice’s dad?”

“Please dad?” Alice pouted as well, her blue eyes wide as she looked up at him hopefully

“Well…” Jack seemed torn, “If it’s okay with Mica’s dad then-”

Both girls cut him off, cheering as they raced towards the picnic basket Ianto had set up a few feet away, “Yay!” Mica taking the lead in unpacking all the shit her uncle had bought for her. Ianto couldn’t help but feel self conscious about the unhealthy choices now as he was about to be judged by an actual parent.

“Sorry,” Jack winced when Ianto looked back over at him, “I know this probably isn’t what you had planned for the afternoon.”

While Jack was right and Ianto hadn’t planned on any of this, he couldn’t say he minded too much. Mica was a popular enough girl but one could never have too many friends, “I don’t mind, I really did buy too much at the shop.” He gestured to the blanket as he sat down, pulling out a thermos as well as a bottle of juice each for the girls who were already tucking into crisps and prepackaged sandwiches, “Do you drink coffee? I’ve got more than enough”

“Coffee sounds great.” Jack couldn’t help but smile as he watched Alice whisper and giggle with her new friend, he had worried she would be lonely at her new school, “Thank you” it didn’t hurt that he’d found an attractive dad to be friends with as well, “I haven’t seen you round the playground,” he made conversation as Ianto handed him a paper cup with some delicious smelling coffee inside, “I think I’ve seen your wife a few times though, Rhiannon?”

A look of horror crossed Ianto’s face for a few seconds before he shook his head quickly, “No,” he crinkled his nose adorably, “no, god no. Sorry. Rhiannon’s my sister, I’m Mica’s uncle.” He explained

“Oh,” Jack took a sip of his coffee to hide his smile, “any kids of your own?”

“Nope,” Ianto dug through the wicker basket and fished out some more sandwiches and a lone pot of fruit in the attempt to seem like he was feeding his niece something healthy, ignoring the many packets of biscuits and sweets surrounding him, “They’re brilliant though, mad but brilliant. I’d love to have some one day.”

“Uncle Ianto doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Mica decided to speak up, smiling innocently as Ianto glared at her in poorly disguised horror, willing her to shut up, “Mam sez he’s lonely”

Sufficiently mortified, Ianto wasn’t even going to try and preserve his image when Alice piped up as well, “My dad doesn’t have many friends here yet either”

“That’s quite enough of that Alice,” at least Ianto wasn’t the only one feeling embarrassed, “Have you thanked Mica’s uncle for letting us join in on his picnic yet?”

Feeling shy once more, Alice was much quieter as she addressed Ianto, “Thank you Mica’s Uncle” 

“You’re most welcome” Ianto smiled at the small girl, relaxing once more as Mica started chatting away about something other than his lack of a dating life. 

“Well,” Jack chuckled, feeling a bit awkward now, “Kids, eh? Never know what going to come out of their mouths”

“Yeah” Ianto agreed, finishing his coffee as the girls ran off to play again, “I’m just glad that’s all she heard my sister talking about. It could have been something a lot worse”

“What, like the fact I apparently have no friends?” Jack shook his head with a self deprecating laugh, “To be fair, we only moved out here a few weeks ago. It was a bit of a rushed job”

“Oh?” When Jack didn’t say anything more, Ianto tried to fill the silence, “I’ve lived here all my life really, you picked a nice place to raise Alice. It’s supposed to be one of the best schools in the area the one Mica goes to. Rhia was well chuffed she managed to get her kids in there”

“More than one?” Jack prompted, chewing thoughtfully on a sandwich

Ianto scratched behind his ear, “Mica has an older brother, David. He’s ten so theres a bit of a gap.” He looked over briefly at the playground equipment to check the girls were okay before asking, “What about Alice? Any brothers or sister?”

“No,” Jack told him, “I’ve just got her.”

“Right,” Ianto hummed, finding the lull in conversation just a tiny bit awkward as he searched for just about any excuse to fill it, “So, what do you do for work?”

An honest smile spread across Jack’s face as he got to talk about something he was passionate about, “I’m a mechanic, been fixing cars for as long as I can remember back in the states. Even co-owned a garage at one point but then I met Alice’s mother and… well she wanted to move back home to London to be closer to her family and I came along for the ride. Then the two of us ended up here, it’s not too bad.” He teased, “A little cold”

Ianto rolled his eyes, “You’ll get used to it”

Before he knew it four o’ clock came rolling around and it was about time he got Mica back home to avoid a scolding from his sister. Mica said goodbye to her new friend, cradled her battered kite and fell asleep in the back of the car on the drive home. All in all it hadn’t been a bad day out, he’d rather enjoyed himself actually.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are read, responded to and greatly appreciated. I love reading what you have to think :)


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